Roberto R. Calderón

Our humanity is inseparable from our historical moment. Ultimately our complicated existence is tied to our connection with and toward all things living. Took up nature photography in 2014.

Greatly appreciate the hiking and getting outdoors. Enjoy the surprise nature presents in the varied natural settings. There’s still wonder in the world. Respect for life is reinforced. Love all things associated with the large borderless online digital community of similar peoples engaged in learning and sharing knowledge and their appreciation for nature in its broadest sense—a beautifully desperate gesture, a raging hope as we course through the latest (and sixth) mass planetary extinction. And still we are awed.

Specifically, I have been frequenting regional parks in the greater North Texas area. I began documenting flora and fauna at Avondale Park, our neighborhood’s park, and Cooper Creek that’s associated with it. The greater North Texas metropolitan area is home to more than seven million people and counting. There are incredible city, county, state, and federal parks, trails, wildlife preserves and refuges within reach. We have gradually widened the circle of interest and complexity in our pursuit of this endeavor so as to grow experiential knowledge. There is and always will be much more to learn about the circle of life. We’re but one link.

I am a generalist most interested in birds although one is always swept toward knowing the biodiversity encountered on and off the trail. This is how dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, snakes, turtles, wildflowers, trees, and so forth manage to find their way into the collected archive. What’s the name and basic range of all these life forms? It’s a compelling quest.

We are all citizens of the world living on the only planet we have. Therefore I am a citizen naturalist and amateur photographer.

Those fortunate enough to practice photography know that it is the sum of our experience. Photography is both art and science. It is faith and aesthetics; discipline and intuition. I’ve always been a shutterbug. But my work has grown; it has evolved. It is tied to the era of the digital revolution like iNaturalist.

May there always be another day to share the word and images that accompany it. It is our collective report on the planet’s life. May we share it with those we love and those we have yet to meet, kindred spirits we may yet call friends. Life is fleeting but intense. New generations await their turn at changing course.

May we always remember our place en el árbol de la vida. All life on our planet shares the same cosmic fate of the universe. We are one or none at all.